MARY CASSATT 1844 - 1926

Mary Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, USA. She spent her early years in France and Germany. At the age of 15 she already began studying at the Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and even the Civil War could not deter her from her studies.Mary Cassatt moved to Paris several years later, supported by her mother and friends of the family. Since women were not granted access to the École des Beaux-Arts, she took private classes. She also viewed the old masters in particular as worthy learning material—she traveled through the cities of Europe, visited their museums, and studied the originals.In 1868 she participates in the Paris Salon for the first time. At first the widespread avantgarde spirit in the arts in France at the time, spearheaded by artists like Manet and Courbet, had scant influence on Cassatt’s work—she maintained a more traditional style and showed work at the exhibitions of the Paris Salon regularly in the following years. In 1870 she returned to the USA for a stint. She wished to live as a painter, but also to build up a financially independent existence. Despite the acknowledgment of her work by the New York art scene, she was not able to make a living off of painting, and gave up on it for a while. Cassatt was dissatisfied with the conservative selection politics of the Paris Salon jury, and openly criticized the under-representation of female artists who did not posess the corresponding recommendations of male colleagues. In 1877 she was invited by Edgar Degas to join an artist group—they would later become the impressionists. In the following years, Degas became her mentor and close friend, with a significant influence on her style—she developed her technique further in dialogue with him, experimenting with her use of light and color.While subject to the prevalent critique of the impressionists of the time—that of technical crudity—her works are of a vibrant ease, conveying intimacy and closeness at the same time. At the same time it is apparent that the atmospheric paintings are devoid of any sentimentality, instead rich with dense, evocative moods.Cassat continued to develop her style during her entire professional life, and is primarily famous for her mother and child scenes. In America she only became well-known after her death, today her work is part of numerous collections.